62-303.720. Delisting Procedure

(1) Waters on Planning or Study Lists developed under this chapter that are verified to not be impaired during development of the Verified List shall be removed from the State’s Planning or Study List.

(2) Waterbody segments shall be removed from the State’s Verified List only after adoption of a TMDL, a Department determination that pollution control programs provide reasonable assurance that water quality standards will be attained pursuant to Rule 62-303.600 F.A.C., or upon a demonstration that the waterbody meets the waterbody quality standard that was previously established as not being met.

(a) For waters listed due to failure to meet aquatic life use support based on water quality criteria or due to threats to human health based on single sample water quality criteria, the water shall be delisted when:

1. The number of samples that do not meet an applicable water quality criterion due to pollutant discharges is less than or equal to the number listed in Table 4 for the given sample size, with a minimum sample size of 30. Waters shall be delisted when 10% or less of the samples do not meet the applicable criterion with a minimum of a 90% confidence level using a binomial distribution, or

2. Following implementation of pollution control activities that are expected to be sufficient to result in attainment of applicable water quality standards, evaluation of new data indicates the water no longer meets the criteria for listing established in Rule 62-303.420, F.A.C., or

3. Following demonstration that the water was inappropriately listed due to flaws in the original analysis, evaluation of available data indicates the water does not meet the criteria for listing established in Rule 62-303.420, F.A.C.

(b) New data evaluated under subparagraph 62-303.720(2)(a)1., F.A.C., must meet the following requirements:

1. They must include samples collected during similar conditions (same seasons and general flow conditions) that the data previously used to determine impairment were collected, with no more than 50% of the samples collected in any one quarter,

2. The sample size must be a minimum of 30 samples; and,

3. The data must meet the requirements of subsections 62-303.320(4), (8) and (9), F.A.C.

(c) For waters listed due to failure to meet aquatic life use support based on biological data pursuant to Rule 62-303.430, F.A.C., the waterbody shall be delisted when two temporally independent follow-up Biological Health Assessments have been conducted and the waterbody no longer qualifies for the Planning List pursuant to subsection 62-303.330(3), F.A.C. The follow-up tests must meet the following requirements:

1. For streams, the new data must be SCIs unless the SCI is not appropriate for the waterbody type, in which case the new data shall consist of the Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index.

2. The data must meet the requirements of subsections 62-303.330(1) and (2), F.A.C.

(d) For waters listed due to fish consumption advisories, the water shall be delisted following the lifting of the advisory or when data complying with paragraphs 62-303.470(1)(a) and (b), F.A.C., demonstrate that the continuation of the advisory is no longer appropriate.

(e) For waters listed due to their shellfish bed management classification, the water shall be delisted upon reclassification of the shellfish harvesting area to approved, or for conditionally approved areas, when the only source identified by SEAS for the harvesting area is wildlife.

(f) For waters listed due to bathing area closure or advisory data, the water shall be delisted if the bathing area does not meet the listing thresholds in subsection 62-303.360(1), F.A.C., for five consecutive years.

(g) For waters listed based on impacts to potable water supplies or treated potable water supplies, pursuant to paragraph 62-303.380(1)(b), F.A.C., the water shall be delisted when the causes resulting in higher treatment costs have been ameliorated.

(h) For waters listed based on bacteriological water quality criteria expressed as a monthly geometric mean or a median pursuant to paragraph 62-303.460(3)(b), 62-303.470(3)(b), or 62-303.480(3)(b), F.A.C., the water shall be delisted when:

1. For listings based on bacteriological water quality criteria expressed as a monthly geometric mean, the criteria applicable to those sections are met for three consecutive years and there are sufficient new data available to calculate monthly values for at least the same seasons in which the exceedances occurred,

2. For listings based on bacteriological water quality criteria expressed as a median, the criteria applicable to those sections are met for the verified period, or

3. Following a demonstration that the water was inappropriately listed due to flaws in the original analysis, including the use of a non-representative sample set.

(i) For waters listed based on single-sample bacteriological water quality criteria pursuant to paragraph 62-303.460(3)(a), 62-303.470(3)(a), or 62-303.480 (3)(a), F.A.C., the water shall be delisted upon meeting the delisting provisions in paragraph 62-303.720(2)(a), F.A.C.

(j) For waters listed based on a human health-based annual average criterion, the water shall be delisted when the annual average concentration is less than the criterion for three consecutive years.

(k) For waters listed based on nutrient impairment, the waterbody shall be delisted if:

1. It was listed based on exceedances of a nutrient threshold in subsection 62-303.450(1), F.A.C., but it does not meet the listing thresholds in subsection 62-303.450(1), F.A.C., for three consecutive years,

2. It was listed based on exceedances of a numeric nutrient criterion expressed as an annual geometric mean or annual mean, and the water attains the criterion for three consecutive years,

3. It was listed based on other information indicating an imbalance in flora or fauna pursuant to subsection 62-303.450(2), F.A.C., and it is demonstrated to not exceed the narrative nutrient criteria at paragraph 62-302.530(47)(b), F.A.C., pursuant to the provisions of subsection 62-303.450(2), F.A.C.,

4. It was listed based on exceedances of a numeric nutrient criterion expressed as a long-term average or long-term average of annual means, and the long-term average over the verified period no longer exceeds the criterion,

5. It was listed based on exceedances of a numeric nutrient criterion expressed as not to be exceeded in more than 10 percent of the measurements, and the water meets the delisting requirements of subparagraph 62-303.720(2)(a)1., F.A.C.,

6. It was listed based on exceedance of a loading based numeric nutrient criterion and the water attains the criterion for three consecutive years, or

7. It was listed based on an increasing trend in chlorophyll a and based on additional data and analysis the trend is no longer statistically significant or the water is no longer expected to become impaired within 5 years.

(l) For any listed water, the water shall be delisted if, following a change in approved analytical procedures, criteria, or water quality standards, evaluation of available data indicates the water no longer meets the applicable criteria for listing.

(m) For waters listed due to failure to meet aquatic life use support based on paragraph 62-303.420(7)(b), F.A.C., or due to failure to meet fish consumption use support based on subsection 62-303.470(2), F.A.C., the waterbody shall be delisted if the Department determines the waterbody is no longer impaired, based on scientifically credible and compelling information comparable in quantity and quality to the information used to make the initial listing decision. Any determinations to delist waters based on this provision shall be documented, and the documentation shall include the basis for the decision.

Table 4. Delisting
Maximum number of samples that do not meet an applicable water quality criterion allowable to DELIST with at least 90% confidence.
Sample Sizes			Maximum # of Samples not meeting a criterion allowable for delisting		Sample sizes		Maximum # of Samples not meeting a criterion allowable for delisting
From	To				From	To
30	37		0		279	289	21
38	51		1		290	300	22
52	64		2		301	311	23
65	77		3		312	323	24
78	90		4		324	334	25
91	103		5		335	345	26
104	115		6		346	356	27
116	127		7		357	367	28
128	139		8		368	378	29
140	151		9		379	389	30
152	163		10		390	401	31
164	174		11		402	412	32
175	186		12		413	423	33
187	198		13		424	434	34
199	209		14		435	445	35
210	221		15		446	456	36
222	232		16		457	467	37
233	244		17		468	478	38
245	255		18		479	489	39
256	266		19		490	500	40
267	278		20

(n) For waters listed due to failure to meet aquatic life use support pursuant to paragraph 62-303.320(7)(b), F.A.C., the water shall be delisted when the applicable criteria are met for at least three consecutive years and there are new data available for the same seasons in which the previous exceedances occurred.

(o) For waterbodies listed on the Verified List, the water shall be delisted from the Verified List for a given parameter and added to the Study List when subsequent analysis demonstrates that the cause of the impairment was incorrect and therefore, the cause of the impairment is unknown.

(p) For waters listed based on the 30-day average DO criterion for predominantly marine waters or the 30-day average ammonia criterion, the waterbody shall be delisted when the monthly average meets the criterion for at least three consecutive years and there are new data available for the same seasons in which the criterion was previously not achieved.

(q) For waters listed based on the weekly average DO criterion for predominantly marine waters, the waterbody shall be delisted when the weekly average DO criterion is met for at least three consecutive years and there are new data available for the same seasons in which the criterion was previously not achieved.

(3) Any delisting of waters from the Verified List shall be approved by order of the Secretary at such time as the requirements of this section are met.

Rulemaking Authority 403.061, 403.067 FS. Law Implemented 403.062, 403.067 FS. History–New 6-10-02, Amended 12-11-06, 9-4-07, 7-2-12, 8-1-13, 2-17-16, 10-17-16.